Battery connection plate and a manufacturing method therefor

ABSTRACT

A battery connection plate a manufacturing method therefor is provided. A terminal  5  and a busbar  9  are insert-molded in the plate body  2 . The terminal  5  is screw-connected to an electrode of a battery with a nut. The terminal  5  is provided with a hole portion and a projecting portion having an opening communicating with the hole portion, and the opening faces in the screwing direction of the nut. Otherwise, the plate body  2  is provided with a pin portion and projections arranged on both sides of the pin portion, and the terminal is provided with a through hole for the pin portion. The projections are positioned adjacently to both sides of the terminal, and the terminal is secured to the plate body  2  by melting the pin portion and the projections and by transforming them. The terminal body is formed integrally with the busbar  9  with use of a metal sheet, and the busbar  9  is formed by double-folding back the metal sheet, wherein the terminal body is connected to the busbar through a narrow portion. The plate body  2  is provided with a pair of guide walls  51,52  having respective slit-like insertion-fixing portions  53,54  to receive the electric wire connected to the terminal  5 , and a groove portion  56  for arranging the electric wires is formed between the guide walls.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention generally relates to a battery connectionplate and more particularly to a battery connection plate and amanufacturing method therefor wherein a busbar for connecting batteriesin series and a terminal for voltage detection are insert-molded in aplate body made of synthetic resin.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004]FIG. 11 shows a conventional battery connection plate.

[0005] Battery connection plates 70,71 are provided at both ends of abattery set 72 and connect batteries 73 in series, which batteryconnection plates 70,71 have a plurality of conductive metal busbars 75in parallel on an oblong plate body 74 made of synthetic resin.

[0006] The busbar 75 has a pair of through holes 78 for connectingelectrodes 76,77, each having a male thread, of the neighboring twobatteries 73 and is fixed to the plate body 74 by means ofpressing-insertion, insert-molding, or the like. Each of electrodes76,77 is tightly-connected with a nut 79 to the busbar 75.

[0007] A busbar 88 having one through hole 82 is fixed to both ends ofthe battery connection plate 70, and both the electrodes 76,77 of thebattery 73 arranged at the both ends of the battery set 72 are connectedthrough each of busbars 83 to respective power feeders (not illustrated)each having a terminal.

[0008] A cover 80 is pivotably provided on the plate body 74, and thebusbars 75,83, electrodes 76,77 and nuts 79 are protected inside anaccommodating portion 81 by closing the cover 80.

[0009]FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view showing another example ofa conventional battery connection plate. In this battery connectionplate 85, a terminal 86 for voltage detection is provided on each of twoneighboring batteries (not illustrated). The terminal 86 isinsert-molded in a plate body 88 made of synthetic resin along with thebusbar 87. The busbar 87 is surface-connected to a tabular electricallycontacting portion 89 provided at the end of the terminal 86, electronicparts (not illustrated) such as a circuit protection element, e.g. fuse,is soldered to a middle portion 101 of the terminal 86, and a signalline 90 is pressure-welded to a base portion of the terminal 86.

[0010] Reference numeral 87 designates a busbar with two holes, 91designates a busbar with one hole, and 92 designates a power feeder witha terminal. The terminal 86 for voltage detection is arranged inside afront circular hole 93 of the plate body 88 along with the busbar 87.The above electronic parts (not illustrated) at the middle portion 89 ofthe terminal 86 is arranged inside an intermediate framed portion 94.The signal line 90 bends in a right angle from a framed portion 95 andis laid inside a short groove portion 96. The power feeder 92 is laidinside another short groove portion 97. 98 designates a pivotable coverwhich is locked to the plate body 88 by locking means 99,100.

[0011] The insert-molding of the terminal 89 for voltage detection andthe busbar 87 is carried out with a metal mold 102 as shown in FIG. 13.For example, melted resin is injected around the busbar 87 and theterminal 89 in a state that each of through holes 104 of the busbar 97and the terminal 89 engages a boss 103 located in a metal mold 102.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 14, a small hole 106 is provided on theelectrically contacting portion 89 side and on the wire connectingportion 105 side of the terminal 86 for voltage detection. As show inFIG. 15, resin 113 enters the small holes 106 at the insert-molding, andthe terminal 86 is secured. In FIG. 14, a pair of small holes 108 forconnecting an electronic parts 107 is provided on the middle portion 101of the terminal 86, lead terminals 109 of the electronic parts 107 areinserted into the small holes 108 and soldered. In case that theelectronic parts 107 is of a circuit protection element, the middleportion 101 of the terminal 86 is cut off between the lead terminals109. As is shown in FIG. 16, a male-threaded electrode 110 of thebattery (not illustrated) is inserted into the through holes 104 of thebusbar 87 and the terminal 86 and tightly-connected to the busbar 87with a nut 111 by means of a tool 112 in an arrow Z1 direction.

[0013] With respect to the above a conventional structure, however, asshown in FIG. 16, when the electrically contacting portion 89 of theterminal 86 is tightened with the nut 111 the an arrow Z 1 direction,big torque on the terminal 86 causes securing force of the terminal 86to be weakened, whereby the terminal 86 slips off, gets rickety, anddamages the plate body 88. Further, this gives bad influence on theelectronic parts 107 (FIG. 14) connected to the middle portion of theterminal 86. If the small hole 106 (FIG. 14) is modified to a larger oneto avoid the above drawback, cross-sectional area of the terminal 86decreases, thereby increasing electric resistance of the terminal 86 andreducing mechanical strength thereof.

[0014] And, as shown in FIG. 13, though positioning of the busbar 87 canbe done at the insert-molding thereof, positioning of the terminal 86for voltage detection is difficult because the terminal 86 is narrow andlong. Also, when the terminal 86 and the busbar 87 are set in the metalmold 102 or when the insert-molded product is taken out of the metalmold 102, there would be a danger that an operator touches the hot metalmold 102 and gets scalded, thereby bringing about bad workability andhigh manufacturing cost.

[0015] Further, in the battery connection plate 85 (FIG. 12), because atleast two kinds of parts, namely the busbar 87 and the terminal 86 forvoltage detection, are insert-molded at the same time, a lot of man-daysis required for a preparation stage of the insert-molding, andsimultaneously works are complicated because of many kinds of and anumber of number of parts.

[0016] If the terminal 86 for voltage detection and the busbar 87 areintegrated so as to reduce the number of parts, heat radiation andelectric resistance varies according to the shape because the busbar 87acts to radiate heat from the battery. Because range for electric wiresconnectable to the terminal 86 for voltage detection depends on materialand shape of the terminal 86, it has been difficult to integrate theterminal 86 with the busbar 87. In case that the same material is used,a terminal 114 for voltage detection has to be thinner than a busbar 113form viewpoint of heat radiation and electric resistance, as shown inFIG. 17, which causes high cost.

[0017] Otherwise, in case that the terminal 86 is insert-molded in theplate body 88 after the electric wire 90 (FIG. 12) is pressure-welded tothe terminal 86, positioning of the terminal 86 is difficult because aplurality of electric wires 90 get tangled, thereby causing badworkability of the insert-molding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0018] In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention isto provide a battery connection plate and a manufacturing methodtherefor wherein securing force of a terminal being integrallyinsert-molded in a plate body made of moldable and insulative materialsuch as synthetic resin is strengthened, workability of positioning theterminal at the insert-molding is enhanced, and further workability ofthe insert-molding is also enhanced by preventing electric wires frombecoming tangled at the insert-molding.

[0019] In order to achieve the above-described object, as a first aspectof the present invention, a battery connection plate comprises: a platebody to be insulative and moldable; and a terminal to be insert-moldedin the plate body and to be screw-connected to an electrode of abattery, wherein the terminal is provided with a hole portion and aprojecting portion having an opening, the opening communicating with thehole portion and being directed to a screw tightening direction of theelectrode.

[0020] As a second aspect of the present invention, a battery connectionplate comprises: a plate body to be insulative and moldable; and aterminal to be insert-molded in the plate body and to be screw-connectedto an electrode of a battery, wherein the plate body is provided with apin portion and projections formed on both sides of the pin portion, theterminal is provided with a through hole to put the pin portiontherethrough, and the projections are arranged on both sides of theterminal, and wherein the terminal is secured to the plate body bymelting and transforming both of the pin portion and the projections.

[0021] As a third aspect of the present invention, a manufacturingmethod of insert-molding a terminal in a moldable insulative batteryconnection plate comprises the steps of: forming a pin portion andprojections on both sides of the pin portion on the plate; forming athrough hole to put the pin portion therethrough on the terminal;positioning the terminal between the projections; putting the pinportion through the through hole of the terminal; melting the pinportion and the projection; and securing the terminal to the plate bodyby transforming the pin portion and the projection.

[0022] As a fourth aspect of the present invention, a battery connectionplate comprises: a plate body to be insulative and moldable; a terminalto be insert-molded in the plate body; and a busbar, formed integrallywith the terminal and made of the same metal material as the terminal,to be insert-molded in the plate body, wherein the busbar is formed bydouble-folding back the metal material.

[0023] As a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the structure withthe above fourth aspect, the terminal is connected to the busbar with anarrow portion.

[0024] As a sixth aspect of the present invention, a battery connectionplate comprises: a plate body to be insulative and moldable; a terminalto be insert-molded in the plate body; an electric wire to be connectedto the terminal; a pair of guide walls provided on the plate body andeach having an insertion-fixing portion to hold the electric wire; and agroove portion formed between the pair of guide walls for arranging theelectric wire therein.

[0025] As a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the structurewith the above sixth aspect, the insertion-fixing portion is of a slit.

[0026] According to the above-described structure of the presentinvention, the following advantages are provided.

[0027] (1) When the terminal having the through hole receiving themale-threaded electrode of a battery is tightened with a nut, becausethe opening of the projecting portion of the terminal faces thetightening direction of the nut so that the opening of the projectingportion brings about big resistance against a tightening torque actingon the terminal, turning of the terminal can be securely checked,whereby securing force of the terminal is strengthened, damage of theplate body due to position chance and backrush of the terminal can beprevented, and bad influence such as external force to an electron partssuch as the circuit protection element mounted at a middle portion ofthe terminal cab be prevented. And, because the hole portioncommunicating with the opening can be small, decrease of a cross sectionarea of the terminal can be limited to the minimum, increase of theelectric resistance and deterioration of the mechanical strength can beprevented.

[0028] (2) The terminal is accurately positioned by means of the pinportion, and also the terminal can be tightly secured by melting theprojection and the pin portion and transforming them. And, because thenarrow and long terminal is accurately positioned and is insert-molded,both of the electronic parts to be mounted on the middle portion of theterminal and the wire connecting portion can be accurately positioned,thereby improving quality of the product. Further, because the terminalis tightly secured, turning of the terminal in tightening the electrodeof the battery can be prevented.

[0029] (3) Because the terminal is set on the plate body, there is nodanger of an operator to touch the hot metal mold, workability can beimproved and manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[0030] (4) Because the busbar-integrated terminal is insert-molded,working man-day can be reduced. And, the busbar is formed thicker thanthe terminal body by double-folding back a metal plate, electriccharacteristic and heat radiation characteristic of both of the busbarand the terminal body can be improved, thereby facilitating themanufacture and simultaneously reducing parts cost.

[0031] (5) Because the heat is hard to transmit toward the busbar bymeans of the narrow portion when the electronic parts is soldered to theterminal body, soldering efficiency can be improved. On the contrary,because the heat is hard to transmit toward the terminal body from thebusbar, i.e. from the battery, bad influence to the electronic partsmounted on the terminal body can be prevented.

[0032] (6) Because the electric wire is held provisionally by means ofthe insertion-fixing portion of the guide wall, the pressure-weldingwork of the electric wire to the terminal can be facilitated andsecured. And, because the electric wire, to which the terminal isconnected, is fixed to the insertion-fixing portion of the guide wall, atangle of the electric wires can be prevented, thereby facilitatingarrangement of the electric wires. Further, because a plurality ofelectric wires can be arranged in the groove portion between the guidewalls, arranging work of the electric wires can be facilitated.

[0033] (7) Because the electric wire is put in the slit, the electricwire can be held securely.

[0034] The above and other objects and features of the present inventionwill become more apparent from the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035]FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a batteryconnection plate in accordance with the present invention;

[0036]FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a securingstructure of an electric terminal used in the battery connection plate;

[0037]FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the terminal securing structureof FIG. 2;

[0038]FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of aterminal securing structure;

[0039]FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the terminal securingstructure of the battery connection plate of FIG. 4;

[0040]FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state wherein the electricterminal of FIG. 4 is secured;

[0041]FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of abusbar-integrated terminal;

[0042]FIG. 8 is a side view showing the busbar-integrated terminal ofFIG. 7;

[0043]FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view showing a connectingportion between the busbar and a terminal body of the busbar-integratedterminal of FIG. 7;

[0044]FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a holding structure of anelectric wire connected to the battery connection plate of FIG. 1;

[0045]FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of aconventional battery connection plate;

[0046]FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view showing another example ofa conventional battery connection plate;

[0047]FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a state beforeinsert-molding the electric terminal and the busbar of FIG. 12;

[0048]FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view showing a state ofmounting an electronic parts onto the electric terminal of FIG. 12;

[0049]FIG. 15 is a sectional view showing a state of havinginsert-molded the electric terminal of FIG. 13;

[0050]FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a state oftightly-connecting the electric terminal and the busbar of FIG. 13 to anelectrode of a battery; and

[0051]FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing an electric terminalintegrally formed with a busbar with the same metal material.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0052] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described infurther detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0053]FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a battery connection plate inaccordance with the present invention.

[0054] This battery connection plate 1 has a plate body 2 of syntheticresin, i.e. of insulative, and a cover 4 pivotably provided on the platebody 2 through a hinge 3. A busbar 9, an electric terminal 5 for voltagedetection, and an electric terminal 6 for power feeding, i.e. a feedingterminal, are integrally provided on the plate body 2 by means of theinsert-molding.

[0055] One piece of the busbar 9 is arranged under two neighboringcircular holes 7 of the plate body 2, an electrically contacting portion8 of the terminal 5 for voltage detection is arranged in one of the twocircular holes 7, and the busbar 9 and the electrically contactingportion 8 surface-contacts to each other. An electronic parts mountingportion 10 located at a longitudinal middle portion of the terminal 5 ispositioned inside a four-sided framed portion 11, and a wire connectingportion 12 of the terminal 5 is positioned inside a rear framed portion13 continuing from the framed portion 11. Feeding terminals 6 in thesame shape as the terminal 5 are insert-molded in the plate body 2 atthe both ends thereof.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal 5 for voltage detection consistsof the electrically contacting portion 8 having a through hole 14 for amale-threaded electrode (not illustrated) of a battery (notillustrated), a base plate portion 15 bendingly extending form theelectrically contacting portion 8, and a wire connecting portion (notillustrated) continuing behind from the base plate portion 15. Here,small holes around the through hole 14 are omitted in FIG. 2. The baseplate portion 15 consists of a front portion 16 continuing from theelectrically contacting portion 8, the electronic parts mounting portion10 being the intermediate portion, and a rear portion 17 continuing fromthe electronic parts mounting portion 10.

[0057] A projecting portion 18 as a whirl-stop is scratched up on thefront portion 16 of the base plate portion 15. This projecting portion(or a scratched-up portion) 18 is a first feature in the presentembodiment. The projecting portion 18 is formed in a tetrahedron-likeshape and consists of two triangular wall portions 21 and a triangularopening 19 facing in a tightening direction (i.e. an arrow Z2 direction)of the terminal 5. The opening 19 communicates with a small hole (a holeportion) 20 (FIG. 3) on the base plate portion 15. 22 in FIG. 2 is asmall hole to receive a lead terminal of electronic parts (notillustrated).

[0058] As shown in FIG. 3, upon insert-molding of the terminal 5 in theplate body 2 made of resin, the melted resin is filled up inside both ofthe small hole 20 and the projecting portion 18. After the resin hashardened, the male-threaded electrode of the battery (not illustrated)is put through the through hole 14 (FIG. 2) of the terminal 5 and istightened with a nut (not illustrated). At this time, though theterminal 5 receives a torque in the arrow Z2 direction, because theopening 19 of the projecting portion 18 stands against the resin with alarge area, the terminal 5 is prevented from turning, thereby preventingloosening or backrush of the terminal 5. That is, because the resin isfilled up inside the projecting portion 18 from the opening 19 to thesmall hole 20, securing force of the terminal 5 is enhanced.

[0059] Here, another projecting portion 18 may be formed in the rearportion 17 of the base plate portion 15 (FIG. 2). In case that anelectronic part such as a circuit protection element is connected to theintermediate portion 10, however, the projecting portion on the rearportion 17 is unnecessary because the intermediate portion 10 is cut offlater. In this case, the rear portion 17 can be secured enough by meansof the insert-molding. The tightening torque can be sustained by theprojecting portion 18 of the front portion 16, and excessive externalforce on the electronic parts can be prevented.

[0060] The projecting portion 18 can also be applied to the feedingterminal 6 (FIG. 1) and further to the terminal of the conventionalbattery connection plate (FIG. 12).

[0061] FIGS. 4-6 show another embodiment of a securing structure of aterminal for voltage detection or of a feeding terminal; namely, show anexample of a manufacturing method of a battery connection plate.Referring to FIG. 4, a pair of small holes (through holes) 28,29 areprovided on a front portion 26 and on a rear portion 27 of a base plateportion 25, and pin portions 31,32 of a plate 30 of resin are insertedinto each of the small holes 28,29 while completing setting of aterminal 24. Position of the terminal 24 is decided accurately by twopairs of pin portions 31,32.

[0062] The pin portions 31,32 are formed sufficiently longer than athickness of the base plate portion 25, and the ends of the pin portions31,32 projects high over the base plate portion 25. A pair of block-likeprojections 33,34 are provided on both sides of each of the pin portions31,32. The projections 33,34 are arranged closely to both edges of thebase plate portion 25. Length of the projections 33,34 is set almostequally to a length of the pin portions 31,32.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 5, the projections 33,34 and the pin portions31,32 are integrally formed with a plate 30 of resin. This plate 30 is,for example, set inside a recess of a metal mold (not illustrated) andforms a part of the plate body (reference numeral 2 of FIG. 1, forexample).

[0064] As shown in FIG. 6, the projections 33,34 and the pin portions31,32 of FIG. 4 melt with heat and cover a front portion 26 and a rearportion 27 of the base plate portion 25 of the terminal 24. That is, theprojections 33,34 and the pin portions 31,32, are melted and connected.The base plate portion 25 is secured to the plate 30 by the projections33,34 and the pin portions 31,32. The terminal 25 is secured to theplate 30 tightly by the resin members 36,37, and a torque (the arrow Z2direction in FIG. 2) arisen at tightening the electrode is sustainedsecurely. According to the present embodiment, positioning and securingof the terminal 24 by means of the projections 33,34 and of the pinportions 31,32, member or material can be effectively use.

[0065] As a means to melt the projections 33,34 and the pin portions31,32 after having set the terminal 24 in the plate 30 of FIG. 5, amethod to push an upper heated metal mold (not illustrated) down to theprojections 33,34 and the pin portions 31,32 or another method to applythe laser beam and the supersonic wave, which are not illustrated, tothe projections 33,34 and to the pin portions 31,32 are effective.

[0066] Because these heating methods do not require a lower metal mold,which supports the terminal 24, to be heated, there is no worry about anoperator to get scalded by touching the metal mold, thereby making workeasier and promoting cost saving. The structures of FIGS. 4-6 areeffective as a terminal securing method.

[0067] The busbar 9 is set on the electrically contacting portion 35 ofthe terminal 24 of FIG. 4, and the busbar 9 is insert-molded in theplate body 30 along with the electrically contacting portion 35. Theelectrically contacting portion 35 of the terminal 24 can be formedintegrally with the busbar 9 with the same metal material. This will bedescribed with the following embodiment.

[0068] FIGS. 7-9 show another embodiment of a terminal for voltagedetection.

[0069] In this terminal 38, as shown in FIGS. 7-8, a busbar 39 and aterminal body 40 are made of the same metal with the same thickness. Thebusbar 39 is made of a metal plate having a turn-up portion 41 at thefront end, and the front edge of the terminal body 40 is integrallyconnected to the rear end of an upper board portion 42 or of a lowerboard portion 43 of the busbar 39.

[0070] Because the busbar 39 has a double thickness T2 of the terminalbody 40 having a thickness T1 (FIG. 8), the electric resistance or theheat radiation of each of the busbar 39 and the terminal body 40 can besuitably controlled in spite of using the same metal material. Theterminal body 40 can have an appropriate thickness meeting a diameter ofan electric wire to be connected thereto. Because the terminal 38 can beformed with the simple way of folding back the busbar 39 in two pieces,parts cost can be reduced in comparison with the conventional terminal(FIG. 17) formed with a board with a step.

[0071] As shown in FIG. 9, the terminal body 40 is connected to thebusbar 39 with a right and left pair of narrow portions 44,45. A widthS1 of the narrow portions 44,45 should be about ¼ of a width S2 of abase plate portion 46 of the terminal body 40. The terminal 38 can beset stable in the metal mold (not illustrated) for the insert-moldingwith this structure. After having insert-molded the terminal 38, one ofthe narrow portions 45 can be cut off to reduce a cross section of theconnecting portion, whereby wettability of the solder to be applied toconnect an electronic part (not illustrated) to a middle portion 47(FIG. 7) of the base plate portion 46 of the terminal body 40 isimproved.

[0072] That is, the heat gets hard to escape toward the busbar 39 sidethrough the narrow portion 44, thereby promoting heating-up of the baseplate portion 46 (i.e. the middle portion 47). Reversely, even if thebusbar 39 gets hot with the heat from the battery, because the heat ishard to transmit to the terminal body 40 due to the narrow portion 44,the electronic parts does not suffer bad influence from the heat.

[0073] Even if the pair of narrow portions 44,45 are just used withoutcutting off the narrow portion 45, the above effect can be expected.And, the narrow portions 44,45 of the terminal body 40 can be connectedto the upper board portion 42 of the busbar 39. Also, the base plateportion 46 of the terminal body 40 can be provided with the securingmeans and the positioning means applied to the previous embodiment (FIG.2 and FIG. 4).

[0074] In the present embodiment, however, because the busbar 39 isintegrally formed with the terminal body 40, the busbar 39 fullysustains the tightening torque of the electrode of the battery (notillustrated), and therefore a torque does not act on the terminal body40 only by insert-molding the busbar 39 in a plate body of resin(reference numeral 2 of FIG. 1, for example). Because position of theterminal body 40 is decided according to the position of the busbar 39,the terminal body 40 needs not to be positioned. However, in case thatthe narrow portions 44,45 have been transformed and position of theterminal body 40 deflects, the above positioning means is effective.

[0075] The terminal body 40 (FIG. 7) includes a base plate portion 46and a wire connecting portion 48 similarly to the above embodiment. And,the base plate portion 46 is made up of a front portion, an intermediateportion 47 on which an electronic parts is to be mounted, and a rearportion on a side of the wire connecting portion 48. A signal line (notillustrated) is pressure-welded to the wire connecting portion 48.

[0076] In the embodiment of the battery connection plate 1 of FIG. 1,the signal line 50 (FIG. 10) and the power feeder (not illustrated)arranged on both sides of or on a side of the battery connection plate Iare held in guide walls 51,52 of the battery connection plate 1. Thesignal line (an electric wire) 50 and the power feeder are inserted intoslits 53,54 and provisionally held therein, and at that state of FIG.10, end portions of the respective electric wires are pressure-welded tothe wire connecting portions 12 of the terminals 5,6. The busbar 9 andthe terminal 5 have been already insert-molded. The electric wireshaving been provisionally held by the slits 53,54 are returned to theoriginal positions after the pressure-welding of the respectiveterminals. This structure is effective as a wiring method in the batteryconnection plate 1.

[0077] The guide walls 51,52 are arranged oppositely to each other at awire leading-out side of the plate body 2. The front guide wall 51extends in a longitudinal direction of the plate body 2 orthogonally tothe framed portion 13 positioned at the back of the terminalaccommodating portion 55 (FIG. 1) of the plate body 2, and the rearguide wall 52 stands at the rear end of the plate body 2 in parallelwith the front guide wall 51, while forming a groove (a groove portion56) to arrange a plurality of electric wires between the walls 51,52.Here, the front and the back of the plate body 2 correspond to those ofthe terminal 5. The terminal accommodating portion 55 has at least thefront circular hole 7, the middle framed portion 11, and the rear framedportion 13. The front guide wall 51 extends over a full length of theplate body 2, and the rear guide wall 52 is shorter than the front guidewall 51 by at least a length required for a space portion 57 provided atboth rear sides of the feeding terminals 6.

[0078] Wire-inserting slits (i.e. an insertion-fixing portion) 53,54 areformed vertically on the guide walls 51,52 behind the terminals 5,6. Theslits 53,54 are arranged in a line. Slits 53,54 each are arranged with adetermined interval on the respective guide walls 51,52. Width of theslits 53,54 is almost equal to or a little smaller than the outsidediameter of the electric wire 50 so that the electric wire 50 is tightlyput between each of the slits 53,54, thereby facilitatingpressure-welding work of the electric wire 50 to each of the terminals5,6. When the terminals 5,6, to which the electric wires 50 arepressure-welded, are insert-molded, because the electric wires 50 areheld, position change of the terminals 5,6 can be prevented, therebyfacilitating the insert-molding of the terminals 5,6. Because theelectric wires 50 are arranged with a determined interval according tothe slits 53,54, a tangle of the electric wires 50 can be prevented andalso arranging work of the electric wires 50 is facilitated.

[0079] After the pressure-welding of the terminal, the electric wire 50is removed only from the slit 54 of the guide wall 52, is arranged in alongitudinal direction of the plate body 2 through the groove portion 56between the guide walls 51,52, and is led out from the opening 58 of thegroove portion 56. The electric wires 50 can be gathered up in the sameleading-out direction, whereby the plate body can be in good order.Because each of electric wires 50 is held by the slit 53 of the guidewall 51, bending work of the electric wire 50 in a right angle is easy.For example, a notch in a V-shape (not illustrated) can be formed inplace of each of the slits 53,54.

[0080] As shown in FIG. 1, a framed portion 60 for engaging the cover 4is formed adjacently to the terminal accommodating portion 55, and anengaging projection 61 is provided inside the framed portion 60. Thebattery connection plate 1 is provided with three covers 4. In a middleportion of a depth direction of each of the cover 4, a pair of guidewalls 62 to engage the framed portion 60 and an engaging projection 63positioned between both of the guide walls 62 are formed. Upon closingthe cover 4, the terminal accommodating portion 55 and the grooveportion 56 which is an electric wire accommodating portion are blockedso that the terminals 5,6, the busbar 9, the electric wire 50, and theelectrode of the battery (not illustrated) are protected.

[0081] Although the present invention has been fully described by way ofexamples with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be notedthat various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilledin the art. Therefore, unless otherwise such changes and modificationsdepart from the scope of the present invention, they should be construedas being included therein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A battery connection plate, comprising: a platebody to be insulative and moldable; and a terminal to be insert-moldedin the plate body and to be screw-connected to an electrode of abattery, wherein the terminal is provided with a hole portion and aprojecting portion having an opening, the opening communicating with thehole portion and being directed to a screw tightening direction of theelectrode.
 2. A battery connection plate, comprising: a plate body to beinsulative and moldable; and a terminal to be insert-molded in the platebody and to be screw-connected to an electrode of a battery, wherein theplate body is provided with a pin portion and projections formed on bothsides of the pin portion, the terminal is provided with a through holeto put the pin portion therethrough, and the projections are arranged onboth sides of the terminal, and wherein the terminal is secured to theplate body by melting and transforming both of the pin portion and theprojections.
 3. A manufacturing method of insert-molding a terminal in amoldable insulative battery connection plate, comprising the steps of:forming a pin portion and projections on both sides of the pin portionon the plate; forming a through hole to put the pin portion therethroughon the terminal; positioning the terminal between the projections;putting the pin portion through the through hole of the terminal;melting the pin portion and the projection; and securing the terminal tothe plate body by transforming the pin portion and the projection.
 4. Abattery connection plate, comprising: a plate body to be insulative andmoldable; a terminal to be insert-molded in the plate body; and abusbar, formed integrally with the terminal and made of the same metalmaterial as the terminal, to be insert-molded in the plate body, whereinthe busbar is formed by double-folding back the metal material.
 5. Thebattery connection plate as set forth in claim 4 , wherein the terminalis connected to the busbar with a narrow portion.
 6. A batteryconnection plate, comprising: a plate body to be insulative andmoldable; a terminal to be insert-molded in the plate body; an electricwire to be connected to the terminal; a pair of guide walls provided onthe plate body and each having an insertion-fixing portion to hold theelectric wire; and a groove portion formed between the pair of guidewalls for arranging the electric wire therein.
 7. The battery connectionplate as set forth in claim 6 , wherein the insertion-fixing portion isof a slit.